Foxes striker in World Cup bid

Centre forward Ceara Toal is a member of the Great Britain Deaf Womens football team which is due to play in the World Cup in Italy in June but the team needs to raise £20,000 to fully finance the trip.

A LOUGHBOROUGH Foxes player is a step closer to playing in a World Cup this summer thanks to a donation by Premier league goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Centre forward Ceara Toal is a member of the Great Britain Deaf Womens football team which is due to play in the World Cup in Italy in June but the team needs to raise £20,000 to fully finance the trip.

Great Britain Deaf Football is a voluntary organisation and relies heavily on donations and the majority of the money for training and attending international competitions is self-funded. The team decided to set up a ‘justgiving’ page with the aim to raise £10,000 in 30 days.

The appeal was given a massive boost when the Stoke shotstopper pledged £5,000 towards the appeal and the increased awareness of the justgiving page as a result of the donation has seen a total of £16,835 raised with one day to go before the deadline on January 13.

The 27-year-old from Whitwick, made her debut for the GB Deaf team in June 2015, playing all five matches for GB in the European championships in Germany.

She said that most of the funds for tournaments in the past have been raised by the players and/or paid for out of their own pocket.

“At the European championships in June, the team arrived a day before our first match and when the players were not playing or training, we were cooking our own food in self catering apartments.

“Since Jack’s donation, other donations have been flying in and I can’t stop checking the site! We could not be more grateful for Jack’s donation and because of it our name and plea is getting out nationwide.”

Toal said that playing in the World Cup would be a fantastic moment.

“It would mean a great deal to me as I feel I have a lot to offer GB Deaf and this could be my last chance to compete at the World Cup.”